Early Morning Rendezvous

So, I want to first confess that I wrote this sermon for me today, but I let you listen and hope that if it speaks to me, it might, by chance, speak to some of you. In fact, I’m guessing this sermon may speak to anyone who has ever found themselves busy and overwhelmed with the demands of work and life, and relationships.

In this morning’s passage (Mark 1:29-39) we see that the word is out. Jesus can heal, and Jesus will heal. Mark reports, “That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. ³³And the whole city was gathered around the door. ³⁴And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.”

Jesus was in demand. I’m sure some of you know what it feels like to be in demand. Sometimes, it feels like the demands will never end. Now that people were aware of the authority with which Jesus taught and the power with which he could deal with their difficulties, Jesus’ moments of alone time were few and far between. Ever since Jesus called the demons out of the possessed man in Capernaum , the people would not leave him alone. News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee . The people began pressing upon him with their problems, bringing him their diseased to be healed.

Healing the people was a large part of Jesus’ mission on earth. God was reaching out, in the flesh, to meet the needs of humankind. God was working to heal, to restore hope, to reconcile, to create community, to foster compassion and grace, to bring about justice. There were so many needs to meet. How could Jesus meet them all? Where would he get the strength, given his own humanity, to keep up the pace, to continually face the crowd with the fresh new teaching that they desperately needed, to keep on giving of himself in limitless ways?

Sound familiar? If Jesus needed help with his time on earth, what about you and me? Given the demands that are placed upon our time, our energies, our resources that are simply a part of living from day to day, particularly as we seek to be faithful and wise disciples of Jesus Christ. Every day there are needs to be met, decisions to be made, business to be attended to. Every day there are people to relate to, conflicts to be resolved, actions that require more than we in our own strength alone can achieve. Every day has the potential to undo us. Every day changes our lives in some way.

If Jesus needed help to navigate through this world, what about you and me? Jesus didn't struggle with these concerns long. Early in his life and ministry, he discovered the practicality and the power of an early morning rendezvous with God. Mark writes, "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went to a solitary place, where he prayed." Jesus knew that he needed help. He knew that he could not live in this world without God. Jesus knew how life giving a conversation with God could be. If he was forever going to be giving out, he knew he must be taking in. If he was going to spend himself for others, he knew he must spend time spiritually refreshing himself. Jesus knew that it was not humanly possible to accomplish all that he needed to accomplish every day of his life, without divine nourishment and guidance along the way. He also knew that he didn't have to; not when the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise God, his loving Creator was ever present, ready to provide. All he had to do was ask.

That's what prayer is. Prayer is coming to God. Prayer is seeking God and listening to God. Prayer is the appeal of the soul to God. Prayer is connecting with God who is the power source. Prayer is opening ourselves up to God for nourishment. Prayer is communing with God, thanking God, leaning on God, yes, sometimes even giving God a piece of our minds. It is living an intimate relationship with God, surrendering all that we are to all that God is. In prayer, Jesus sought the strength that only communion and fellowship with God could provide. If Jesus needed help in his life, what about you and me?

Although Jesus lived in continual fellowship with God, he still devoted the early morning hours of the day to prayer. Though he practiced God's presence at all times, he did not neglect an early morning rendezvous with God. A rendezvous is a meeting at an appointed place and time. To have a rendezvous with someone is not to leave the meeting to chance. It's setting a date, a time, a place to meet, and it's keeping our appointment, showing up because it matters.

Let's be totally honest, shall we? Many of our meetings with God are not planned. Our prayers are occasional, spontaneous, spur of the moment prayers. For many of us, if we meet with God, it's usually an emergency or a crisis. Our backs are up against the wall, bills are due, a child is sick, it’s the end of the semester and there are exams to take, too many papers to write, too many proposals to get in, we need help. When everything else fails, let’s call on God. God can do anything right?

Something came up so we had to take time to talk with God. That's not really the best way to be in relationship with our never-failing, always-present God. God is here for us. Ideally we could be present for God. If you love God, why not take time to talk to God and let God talk to you? We share with the people we love. We talk to the people we love. Why not take time to talk to God? Because there isn't anything that we can't tell God, ask God about or let God know about. God knows us inside out. God’s power of love and grace, of courage and opportunity, of healing and forgiveness, is available to each and every one of us. I think we forget how much God loves us, when we don’t check in on a regular basis.

Our friendship with God should be a daily and consistent one. Sunday prayer is important, daily prayer is essential. I am often reminded of Susanna Wesley. Susanna Wesley was good at daily prayer. For any of you long time Methodists, you are probably familiar with her name. Susanna was John Wesley’s mother, among other things. John was the founder of Methodism. As a wife and mother in a small 18th century English parish Susanna Wesley herself received little recognition for how she managed her household, raised and educated nineteen children, and coped with a sometimes idealistic and difficult clergyman husband.

Imagine a household always busy with children and chores, with obligations and unexpected children events. Even in the controlled chaos of the Wesley household, Susanna would take several times a day to spend time with God. In fact, when she was not meeting with her children for individual Bible study, she would pull her apron up over her head in the middle of the kitchen, and that was a sign to the children to be quiet and leave her alone. She was praying…and did she ever need to pray with nineteen children and a clergyman’s salary! You don’t need nineteen children to feel the pressures of family life, but we can learn that like Jesus, like Susanna, we need to have an appointment with God every day. It needs to be a priority engagement.

Think of it this way. Some of us wouldn’t think of starting our day without breakfast, but we start our day without time with God. We wouldn’t dare leave the house without a shower, but we leave without a serious time of prayer. It takes discipline and dedication to carve out time with God each day. Jesus got up before dawn to pray the morning after the busiest day of his brief ministry. I would have been sleeping in, but he had desire. His soul longed for God.

Morning time is a wonderful time to meet God. I suppose anytime is a fine time to meet God. I like the mornings, a new day, untouched. In the morning, we have an opportunity to start all over again and to allow God to set the tone for the day. Imagine meeting the source of joy and peace first thing in the morning! When you meet God in the morning, when you start your day with prayer and praise, with the experience of God's love for you, what a difference it will make in your day. In the morning, we can get a head start on the demands that confront us throughout the day. In the morning, we are prepared for all that may come our way in that particular day of duties, disappointments and disagreements. The morning offers an opportunity to invite God to be present with us and to participate in our living in a significant way.

Our prayers do not need to be a pretty bouquet of the perfect words. In fact, sometimes we don’t even need words. Our tears can be prayers. The pits in our stomachs can be prayers. Our singing a song of praise can be a prayer. Our quiet and still listening for the inner teacher to speak words of wisdom into our lives…that stillness can be the most important prayer of all. Prayer isn’t about the right words, it is about being in relationship with the Creator of the Universe, the most powerful force in existence, and the gentlest nurturer we could ever=2 0approach. Prayer is about open and honest communication with a God that will love you more than any living human can ever love you. Why would you pass an opportunity like that up? Amen.